My name is Elene Poulos and I am an RPC-C. My journey to the profession of counselling has been an interesting one - despite always having thought of myself as a helper who loves people, I worked for several years in unrelated fields. With a background in linguistics and teaching English as a Second Language (ESL), speech therapy, and most recently, office management, the field of counselling was an unexpected destination.

After much thought and exploration with my own counsellor, I decided to switch career paths to pursue more meaning, purpose, and passion. With the diversity of both my educational background and personal experience, I bring a unique perspective to counselling. I use an integrative and personalized approach with each client, and I encourage clients to use their own understanding of experiences as a platform for healing. I believe in encouragement and the collaborative development of goals.

The client-counsellor relationship is foundational, and together, we work to discover clarity, develop awareness, and create balance. Growth and transformation are largely based on an environment of compassion, safety, and collaboration - I consider clients to be the experts on their lives, and when met with empathy and authenticity, they can learn to accept who they are and reconnect with their true selves.

The concept of courage is also something of great value in the counselling environment - the courage to be imperfect, how clients would like their lives to be different, and how they want to reshape their lives. Creating a climate in which clients feel encouraged to see their stories from different perspectives and find the ability to separate themselves from the dominant and problematic stories they have internalized, makes space for the development of alternative life stories. I’d like to stress the importance of appreciating people’s differences while focusing on their strengths and competencies, and exploring times in their lives when they were resourceful.